1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a selectively switchable breechblock and/or ammunition drive for feeding of a round of ammunition/cartridge into a chamber of a gun barrel, with which in certain cases the feeding of the breechblock and/or of a round of ammunition in front of the breechblock can be suppressed with the weapon drive continuing to run. Such an option must be provided, inter alia, for the cases in which no breechblock motion must be allowed to take place, for example when the weapon is to be reloaded or a round of ammunition that is located further back in the ammunition magazine or belt element is to be selected.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is well known for a cartridge to be placed in front of a breechblock and for the cartridge to be brought into the gun barrel with the aid of the breechblock motion. The breechblock motion here is based on dwell times during which the breechblock cannot be allowed to move.
The externally driven autocannon known under the name Bushmaster has a circulating chain as the function control and drive for moving the breechblock and ammunition feed, which also gives it the name “chain gun.” Required dwell times are implemented by the guidance of the chain (U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,607; U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,858; U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,936; U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,793; DE 30 21 200 C, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,709).
DE 10 2007 048 468 A describes a drive for linear feeding of ammunition to a gun barrel or chamber by means of a chain. The chain itself is guided closely around two sprockets in a simple manner. A chain link or a cam of the chain is engaged in a guide or channel located below the movable slider. By this means, the chain can continue to move during dwell periods of the weapon that are defined by the function control. The chain itself can be driven by an electric motor.
In contrast, for linear feeding of a breechblock to the gun barrel or chamber, DE 10 2007 054 470 A proposes incorporating a straight guide channel into the drive kinematics. A component that is structurally connected to the breechblock is guided in the guide channel. The guide channel in turn is surrounded by a circulating guide (gate), which in its turn interprets the required dwell times of the breechblock during locking, firing, and unlocking in its forward position, and during reloading after the breechblock has been guided to its rear position. An additional component is guided in the guide as the drive means for the breechblock. The transmission of the drive can be implemented by means of rollers, gears, or the like, which are driven by a motor, etc. The drive itself continues to run during the dwell periods of the weapon.
In special cases, it must be possible to remove the breechblock drive and/or the ammunition drive from the system.